Transportable container for bulk goods and method for forming the container

ABSTRACT

A transportable container for bulk goods and a method for forming the container are disclosed. The transportable container is formed from a bag having a closed base and an open top. A fill material is filled into the bag and an outer wrap is spirally wrapped around the bag such that the outer wrap secures the fill material in the bag. The method for forming the transportable container includes the steps of securing the open top of the bag in an opened position and supporting a base of the bag. The bag is filled with a fill material and while being filled the fill level of the bag is monitored. Simultaneously with filling of the bag, an outer wrap is spirally wrapped around the bag in an upward direction coordinated with the fill level. Once the bag is filled the open top of the bag is released. In some embodiments the open top is then sealed and in others it is left open.

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. Nos.10/280,969 and 10/280,431, both filed Oct. 25, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to a container for transportingbulk goods and, more particularly, to a transportable containercomprising a bag for receiving fill material and a spirally wound outerwrap for stabilizing the bag.

[0003] Typical containers utilized for transport of bulk particulatefill material are inefficient, do not have a very large volume, andoften require a large amount of manual labor be used in filling andhandling of the container. Also these containers are typically stackedon top of each other during handling and transport without stabilizationresulting in damage to the material. In addition, storage anddisassembly of these products requires a large amount of labor andphysical plant space.

[0004] Johnstone. et al. discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,530 method forpackaging of irregularly shaped articles, flowable granules, or liquidscomprising placing an open framework on a pallet to create a space. Thespace is filled with the material and then a stretch wrap film iswrapped around the material and the framework. Finally the framework isremoved from the film.

[0005] Williamson discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,146 a containercomprising a spirally wound film to form an inner container, this issurrounded by a middle layer of spirally wound polyester filament, whichis in turn surrounded by an single outer wrap sheet. The ends of theinner container are closed with ties and a support sling is locatedbetween the middle and outer layers. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,507Williamson discloses a two ply inner tube covered by an over wrap thatis bonded to the inner tube. One end of the inner tube is folded andsealed to form a closed bag like structure.

[0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,599 Sanders discloses a method comprisingdropping the materials into a container mounted to a conveyor, placing acontinuous tubular thermoplastic netting around the container, sealingone end of the netting, then dropping the netting and material out ofthe container onto a second conveyor where the other end of the nettingis sealed. The netting may subsequently be heated to form a firmerpackage.

[0007] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,936 Dockstader, et al. discloses aprotective tray for use in forming a palletized load of stacked bags ofparticulate material. The protective tray comprises double wallcorrugated cardboard or rigid plastic and in a preferred embodiment itis surrounded by a stretch wrap that encircles the protective tray andthe bags.

[0008] Connolly discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,501 a system comprisingwrapping a palletized load with a sheet of thermoplastic nettingmaterial. Finally, Humphrey discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,076 asystem for wrapping a stabilizing overwrap around a load mounted on apallet, which is placed on a rotating turntable. The overwrap has awidth that is equal to the height of the load and with each rotation theoverwrap undergoes successive increasing stages of tension and stretch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a transportable container that isa space and cost savings alternative to other know containers. Thetransportable container of the present invention generates hoop forceson the fill material that immobilize the fill material in the container,make the container rigid, and prevent the fill material from shiftingduring transport thereby preventing damage to the fill material. Thehoop forces promote contact between the components of the fill material,thereby both stabilizing and compressing the fill material, such thatthe container of the present invention can hold up to three times theamount of fill material as compared to a conventional tote. Furtheradvantages include reduced possibility of contamination of the fillmaterial, reduced stacking damage, reduced spoiling, and reducedtrapping of the fill material in the container. Finally, the presentcontainer allows easy identification of the contents because the bag andouter wrap are preferably formed from clear materials. The presentinvention functions by coordinating the fill level of the bag withspirals of an outer wrap to generate and maintain hoop forces on the bagand fill material. This invention functions to make loose fill materialrigid without damage to fragile loose material.

[0010] In one embodiment the present invention is a transportablecontainer for bulk goods comprising: a bag having a closed base and anopen top; a fill material in the bag; and an outer wrap spirally woundaround the bag and securing the fill material in the bag.

[0011] In another embodiment the present invention is a method offorming a transportable container for bulk goods comprising the stepsof: providing a bag having an opened top and a closed base; and spirallywrapping an outer wrap around the bag while directing a fill materialinto the bag and maintaining a top edge of the outer wrap near a filllevel of the fill material in the bag.

[0012] These and other features and advantages of this invention willbecome more apparent to those skilled in the art from the detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany thedetailed description are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one wrapper system according tothe present invention with a flexible bag of the present invention in anopen position prior to filling and wrapping;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 during thefilling and wrapping stages;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 after fillingwith an open top of the bag in a folded over position;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 with the bagin the final upward wrapping stage;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bag in a fully wrapped stage;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thesystem of FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a hoop utilized in the alternativeembodiment of FIG. 6;

[0020]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of our alternative embodiment of aturntable; and

[0021]FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] Throughout the present specification and phase the phrase fillmaterial is used as a shorthand version of the wide range of productsthat can be packaged utilizing the present invention. The presentinvention finds utilization in packaging any sorts of materials that aretypically bulk packaged. These items can encompass large bulk packagedpieces as well as very small bulk packaged pieces. Examples of smallerfill materials include, but are not limited to, the following:agricultural products like seeds, rice, grains, vegetables, fruits;chemical products like fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, raw chemicals,fertilizers; plastics like plastic resin pellets, plastic parts,rejected plastic parts, machined plastic parts; cereals and cerealproducts such as wheat; a variety of machined parts of all sorts; woodproducts like wood chips, landscaping material, peat moss, dirt, sand,gravel, rocks and cement. The present invention also finds utilizationin bulk packaging of larger fill material including, but not limited to:prepared foods; partially processed foods like frozen fish, frozenchicken, other frozen meats and meat products; manufactured items liketextiles, clothing, footwear; toys like plastic toys, plastic halfparts, metallic parts, soft toys, stuffed animals, and other toys andtoy products. All of these types of materials and similar bulk packagedmaterials are intended to be encompassed in the present specificationand claims by this phrase.

[0023] Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, in FIG. 1, oneembodiment of a wrapping system for forming a transportable containerfor bulk goods designed according to the present invention is showngenerally at 10. System 10 includes a frame 12 having an upper support14 spaced apart from a frame base 16. A first support column 18 and asecond support column 20 extend between frame base 16 and upper support14. Frame base 16 includes a pair of base legs 22. An upper turntable 24is mounted within upper support 14 of system 10. A support rim 26 ismounted to upper turntable 24 and a fill chute 28 projects through upperturntable 24. A fill funnel 30 is aligned with fill chute 28. A conveyor32 is aligned above fill funnel 30 for delivering a fill material (notshown) to fill funnel 30. System 10 may comprise a conventional stretchwrapping device such as, for example, a Lantech Q series semi-automaticwrapper.

[0024] Extending from upper support 14 are a plurality of cords 34 eachof which includes a bag clip 36 at one of its ends. Cords 34 are runthrough a series of pulleys 38 joined to a crank 40. Rotation of crank40 moves cords 34 and bag clips 36 up or down relative to upper support14 depending on the direction of rotation of crank 40. Bag clips 36 areattached to the corners of a flexible bag 42.

[0025] Flexible bag 42 includes an open top 44 and a closed base 46. Theclosed base 46 can be formed into the bag 42 or the bag 42 can be acontinuous tubular roll wherein the closed base 46 is formed by foldingover the tube or bunching the tube up. The closed base from a continuoustubular roll can also be formed by twisting and tying off a length ofthe tube which later could be used as a pour spout during subsequentunloading of the fill material 72. Preferably, bag clips 36 are attachedat a position of approximately 50 to 100 inches down from open top 44.In one embodiment, sufficient length is left to allow the open top 44 tobe moved into a folded over position (FIG. 3) so that the bag 42 can besealed with an outer wrap 58, as described below. Bag 42 is preferably agusseted bag having dimensions of the closed base 46 of from 40 to 48inches by from 30 to 40 inches. Preferably bag 42 is from 100 to 190inches long. For a standard pallet size the bag 42 preferably has a baseof about 44 inches by about 36 inches and a length of about 178 inches.Bag 42 can be formed from any food grade material, such as for example,low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, a food gradepolymer, or nylon. The bags can be of a continuous design such as blowmolded polyethylene bags or a bag woven from a fiber or plastic. In apreferred embodiment bag 42 is part of a continuous roll of bags 42.

[0026] The bag 42 can be formed from a wide variety of flexiblematerials including, but not limited to: breathable plastics, foils,light blocking materials, laminates, moisture barrier films, paper, andother typical bag materials. In some embodiments it is preferable thatthe bag 42 be designed with a gusseted bottom thereby creating more of asquare shape to the base 46 of the bag 42. The bag 42 can furthermore becolor coded for rapid material identification from visual clues.Additionally, the bag 42 may include built in loops to enable easierhandling of the bag 42.

[0027] In one embodiment, the closed base 46 rests in a bottom support47. Bottom support 47 can comprise a slipsheet 48 and preferably furtherincludes a shroud 50 when the fill material is very flowable. Slipsheet48 and shroud 50 can be formed from a variety of known materials, suchas for example, corrugated cardboard, plastic, and other similarmaterials. Shroud 50 preferably has at least two sides and may havemore. In addition, shroud 50 may be circular. Shroud 50 can either beattached to slipsheet 48 or it can rest on slipsheet 48. The height ofshroud 50 can vary from 4 to 24 inches. Bottom support 47 is mounted toa pallet 50 which rests on a lower turntable 54. Pallet 50 can be formedfrom metal, wood, plastic, corrugated cardboard and other materials asis known in the art. Preferably the pallet has standard surfacedimensions of 40 by 48 inches.

[0028] In other embodiments, the bag 42 is not associated with a bottomsupport 47 or a shroud 50. Depending on the fill material, the bottom ofthe bag 42 may not require additional support, in which case, the bag 42is simply filled and wrapped with outer wrap 58 in the absence of ashroud 50 or a bottom support 47. In another embodiment, the shroud 50comprises a strip of corrugated cardboard that is fed around the base 46of the bag 42 and secured to the bag 42 with the initial wrappings ofouter wrap 58. Once the strip of the corrugated cardboard has beenplaced around the base of the bag 42 the corrugated cardboard is cut andthe bag 42 is wrapped with outer wrap 58 as described below. In anotherembodiment shown in FIG. 8, the bag 42 rests on lower turntable 54 whichincludes a plurality of fingers 120 that can be extended and retracted.In this embodiment, the fingers 120 are initially extended to providesupport to the base 46 of bag 42 during the initial spiral wrapping ofouter wrap 58 to provide an initial support to the bag 42. After severalwraps of outer wrap 58 the fingers 120 are retracted and the bag 42 iswrapped as described below. In this embodiment, the pallet 50 may or maynot be present.

[0029] Rotation of lower turntable 54 and upper turntable 24 aresynchronized such that they rotate in unison. System 10 further includesa wrap head 56. Wrap head 56 includes a roll of outer wrap 58 and a base60. Wrap 58 is preferably a stretch wrap having a high cling factor. Thewrap 58 is from 50 to 200 gauge; preferably 50 to 150 gauge, and morepreferably 90 to 110 gauge and has a width of from 10 to 30 inches. Mostpreferably, wrap 58 is 100 gauge and has a width of 20 inches. Wrap 58can be any of a variety of stretch wrap films known in the art. In someembodiments the wrap 58 is slit into a series of strips to reduce costsand weight of the wrap 58. In other embodiments the wrap 58 is a stretchnet or webbing to reduce costs and weight of the wrap 58. Wrap head 56is vertically moveable along a guide rod 62. Wrap head 56 is moved upand down guide rod 62 by a motor (not shown). An outer wrap clamp 64 ismounted to a portion of lower turntable 54. In one embodiment, a fillsensor 66 is retractably extended into flexible bag 42. In FIG. 1,flexible bag 42 is shown in a pre-loading position and open top 44 is inan open position. A portion of the outer wrap 58 is clamped in outerwrap clamp 64. Outer wrap clamp 64 both holds the initial spiral ofouter wrap 58 and cuts outer wrap 58 between formation of transportablecontainers. System 10 also includes a fill sensor 66 to monitor the filllevel in bag 42. In one embodiment the fill sensor 66 is an ultrasonictransmitter and receiver, this sensor 66 is used to monitor the toplevel of a fill material 72 in the bag 42.

[0030] In other embodiments, the fill level of the bag 42 is detected inother manners. In one embodiment, the lower turntable 54 furtherincludes a scale and the advancement of outer wrap 58 up the sides ofbag 42 is coordinated with the measured weight of the fill material 72thus allowing the outer wrap 58 to be maintained at or near the filllevel. In other embodiments, the system 10 includes a timing mechanismthat coordinates the movement of outer wrap 58 based on the known fillrate of bag 42. Alternatively, a sonic probe can be used as a fill levelsensor to detect the fill level using sound waves. In either embodimentthe fill sensor 66 is an infrared detector, described below.

[0031] Once a bag 42 is loaded into system 10 crank 40 is rotated tobring bag 42 to the load position as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG.2, the upper turntable 24 and lower turntable 54 are rotated in arotation direction 68 as indicated by the arrow. Initially, the fillmaterial 72 is run into flexible bag 42 through conveyor 32, fill funnel30 and fill chute 28. Fill sensor 66 or the alternatives discussed aboveare utilized to detect the height of the fill material 72 withinflexible bag 42. As flexible bag 42 fills with fill material 72 theupper turntable 24 and lower turntable 54 are rotated at a speed and thewrap head 56 is moved vertically upward such that the outer wrap 58 isalways maintained at a level at or near the top of the level of the fillmaterial 72. With certain fill material 72, such as rice, it may beadvantageous to allow the fill material 72 to be above the level of wrap58 and allow slight bulging of the bag 42 prior to the wrap 58surrounding the fill material 72. This allows the development of a coneshape to the finished bag 42. For other fill material 72 it isadvantageous to keep the wrap 58 level with or slightly ahead of thelevel of the fill material 72. With low density material the level ofthe wrap 58 can be plus or minus 12 inches from the fill level, however,for high density material it should be plus or minus 4 inches from thefill level. In an alternative embodiment, the outer wrap 58 can berotated around a stationary bag 42. As the bag 42 is filled fill sensor66 is slowly withdrawn from flexible bag 42. The system 10 can beadjusted to provide overlapping layers of outer wrap 58 spaced apartfrom 0.5 to 15 inches.

[0032] As discussed above, the fill material 72 may comprise any bulkpacked material such as described above. When loading food products itis preferable that bag 42 be formed of a food grade material, this isnot necessary when the fill material 72 is a non-food product. In onepreferred embodiment, system 10 is used to fill bag 42 with either acereal or a ready-to-eat cereal.

[0033] For certain types of fill material 72 it can be advantageous tosettle the fill material 72 as the bag 42 is being filled. To accomplishthis lower turntable 54 can be modified to incorporate a vibratoryshaker thereby permitting the lower turntable 54 to settle the fillmaterial 72 as the bag 42 is being filled.

[0034] In FIG. 3 flexible bag 42 is shown in the completely filledcondition. In one embodiment, system 10 is stopped at this point in timesuch that an operator can unclip flexible bag 42 from bag clips 36 andfold over open top 44 into a folded over position as shown in FIG. 3. Inthis position, the open top is folded over to seal flexible bag 42.Then, system 10 is again initiated and rotation of the upper turntable24 and lower turntable 54 is commenced again thereby wrapping additionalspiral wrappings of outer wrap 58 around flexible bag 42. It is alsopossible to adjust system 10 such that wrap head 56 is advanced to thetop of the particulate material 72 prior to moving open top 44 to thefolded over position, such that the folded over portion only receivesdownward wrappings of outer wrap 58. Alternative methods for closing bag42 are discussed below.

[0035] In FIG. 4 the system 10 is shown in a position of maximal upwardvertical movement of the wrap head 56. In one embodiment, the upperturntable 24 and lower turntable 54 continue to rotate while the wraphead 56 is moved in a vertically downward direction to complete a secondwrapping of outer wrap 58 around flexible bag 42. This downward wrappingcan be eliminated if desired, although this may require more wrapping onthe upward stroke to make the bag 42 rigid. This downward wrapping canbe adjusted such that only the bottom support 47 is wrapped to bag 42 orsuch that pallet 52 is also wrapped to bag 42. In FIG. 5 flexible bag 42is shown completely wrapped and removed from system 10.

[0036] In FIG. 6 an alternative embodiment of system 10 is shown. Inthis embodiment, open top 44 of flexible bag 24 is held in an openposition by a hoop 92. Hoop 92 includes a plurality of bag holders 94and a plurality of loops 96 that are received on support rim clips 90mounted to support rim 26. In this embodiment, system 10 does notinclude a fill sensor 66 like that described above. Instead system 10includes a plurality of infrared emitters 84 mounted to a sensor bar 86.Sensor bar 86 is placed across from an infrared detector 88 mounted towrap head 56. In use, the infrared emitters 84 emit an infrared beamacross flexible bag 42 to be detected by infrared detector 88. Thus,infrared emitters 84 and infrared detector 88 serve to sense the levelof fill material 72 within flexible bag 42. As in the first embodiment,the upper turntable 24 and lower turntable 54 are rotated as wrap head56 is moved vertically upward and preferably downward along guide rod62. The speed of rotation of turntables 24 and 54 are correlated withmovement of wrap head 56 along guide rod 62 to ensure that the outerwrap 58 is always approximately level with the top of fill material 72in flexible bag 42 on the upward spiral. As described above, bag 42 isfilled with fill material 72 until it is near the top of flexible bag42. At this point, hoop 74 is removed from rails 82 and open top 44 canbe folded over as shown in FIG. 3. Then the procedure continues asoutlined in FIGS. 4 and 5, discussed above.

[0037]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of hoop 92. The shape of bag holders94 and loops 96 permit the open top 44 to be bunched while secured toprovide sufficient bag to be moved into the folded over position.Preferably bag holders 94 include flexible wire like elements 100 toallow them to be inserted into bag 42 and to then friction hold the bag42 open.

[0038] In other embodiments, lower turntable 54, wrap head 56, and base60 are vertically movable. In this embodiment, during the initial stagesof filling bag 42 the lower turntable 54 is placed at a position veryclose to upper turntable 24. As the bag 42 fills lower turntable 54 ismoved in a downward direction to accommodate additional fill material72. The advantage of this system is that fragile materials have a lowerdistance to drop from conveyor 32 into bag 42. Movement of lowerturntable 54 can be accomplished by any of a variety of mechanismsincluding scissors platform legs, hydraulic pistons, pneumatic pistons,or a geared mechanism. In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 9, theopen top 44 of bag 42 is held in a bunched manner by a verticallymovable top hat piece 130. The fill material 72 is fed into bag 42 usingan articulated conveyor mechanism 132. As bag 42 is filled an outer wrap58 is spirally wrapped around bag 42, the top hat piece 130 is movedvertically in an upward direction as is the end of the articulatedconveyor 132. Again, this design minimizes the drop distance for a fillmaterial 72 as it is loaded into bag 42. Top hat piece 130 can be movedby a gear mechanism 134 or other mechanisms known in the art.

[0039] In alternative embodiments, open top 44 can be closed or leftopen depending on fill material 72. For example, certain fill material72 such as wood chips, sand, gravel, and other fill material 72, may notrequire that open top 44 be closed. In such instances, outer wrap 58would be wrapped around bag 42 in an upward direction to secure fillmaterial 72 in bag 42. Alternatively, open top 44 can be closed in anyof a variety of manners known in the art including, but not limited to:sonic or heat welding of open top 44, closure of open top 44 with aplastic pull tie, closure of open top 44 with wire or rope, closure ofopen top 44 with a clamp, and other closure means known in the art. Inembodiments where continuous tubular rolls and sonic or heat welding ofthe open top are used, the process of sealing the top of one bag canalso create the bottom of the next bag. In certain embodiments, it maybe advantageous to eliminate the downward spiral wrapping of outer wrap58 around bag 42. Depending on the type of fill material 72 this mayrequire more spiral wrapping of outer wrap 58 in the upward direction.

[0040] In alternative embodiments, it may be advantageous once the bag42 has been filled with fill materials 72 and outer wrap 58 has beenspirally wrapped around bag 42 to include the additional step of placinga nylon strap netting over bag 42. The netting may include a series ofloops either at the top or the bottom of the netting to enable theresulting load to handle like a Super Sack®. Moving the unit with theloops rather than the pallet 50 or bottom support would be advantageousin loading cargo ships with a very stable load with the least amount ofcost packaging material.

[0041] System 10 preferably includes a control panel 98 to permit anoperator to control various functions such as stop, start, rotationspeed and wrap head 56-movement speed. Such controls are known in theart. System 10 further includes conventional controls to maintain properfill level, outer wrap 58 force, and sequencing. The relationship ofthese parameters is constantly monitored and automatically adjusted bymeans known in the art.

[0042] The wrapping of outer wrap 58 about bag 42 generates what areknown as hoop forces which apply a gentle squeeze to the fill material72, helping to support and firm it. The hoop forces stabilize the fillmaterial 72 by promoting controllable contact between the elements ofthe fill material 72 being loaded into bag 42, thereby promotingbridging between the components of the fill material 72. For example,when the fill material 72 being loaded is a bulk cereal in puff or flakeform, hoop forces promote bridging between cereal pieces, therebyreducing the relative motion between the pieces and immobilizing thecereal within bag 42. By using adjustable force settings on the wraphead 56, hoop forces can be tailored to the type of fill material 72being inserted in bag 42. Hoop forces allow for a very compact and rigidcontainer, which does not allow the fill material 72 to shift or getcrushed within bag 42. Bag 42 is filled without any internal frame orsupport means, since the subsequent removal of such a frame or supportmeans would result in the hoop forces being dissipated and also causedislodging of the fill material 72 which may result in some of the fillmaterial 72 being crushed. When shroud 50 is used, preferably the sidesof shroud 50 are notched and scored in such a way that the hoop forcescan be transmitted to the fill material 72 without being absorbed by anycorners of the shroud 50 or slipsheet 48.

[0043]FIG. 10 is an alternative embodiment of a wrapping system 200.Wrapping system 200 includes a lower turntable 54, a movable top hat130, and a wrap head 56 having a roll of outer wrap 58. The top hat 130and lower turntable 54 are synchronously rotated in unison through amotor 202 and connecting drive shaft 204. Top hat 130 is movable betweenan upward position as shown in FIG. 10 and a downward position as shownin FIG. 1. The top hat 130 includes an inner rim 206 and an outer rim208.

[0044] In FIG. 11 the top hat 130 is shown in the downward loadingposition. In this position an operator places a bag 42 inside the innerrim 206 and takes the top of the bag 42 over the inner rim 206 andbetween the inner rim 206 and the outer rim 208. Outer rim 208 is heldin an elevated position by a plurality of pneumatic arms 210 such thatthere is a gap between the outer rim 208 and the inner rim 206. This isshown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In FIG. 12 the outer rim 208 is shown in theelevated position for loading of the bag 42. Outer rim 208 includes aseries of pressure points 212 spaced around the inside of outer rim 208.Once the bag 42 has been loaded over inner rim 206 the pneumatic arms210 are lowered as shown in FIG. 13 and pressure points 212 contact bag42 and press it against inner rim 206 to hold bag 42 within top hat 130.

[0045] Once the bag 42 has been loaded into top hat 130 the top hat 130is raised to the upper position as shown in FIG. 14. In the upperposition top hat 130 is aligned with a feed chute 214 for providing fillmaterial 72 to the bag 42. Initially, hot air is blown through fillchute 214 to expand bag 42 as shown in FIG. 14.

[0046] As described above, the fill material 72 is run into bag 42 andthe outer wrap 58 is spirally wrapped around the bag 42 at a positionnear to the fill level of the fill material 72 as shown in FIG. 15.

[0047] If the fill material 72 is a compressible material such as fiber,textiles, fiberglass insulation, etc. it is possible to compress thewhole bag 42 vertically prior to sealing the bag 42. The advantage ofthis design would be to reduce the cubic footprint of the material andthereby reduce shipping costs. The flexible nature of the bag 42, wrap58, and fill material 72 make this possible. The compressed load can bewrapped vertically using vertical wrappers from Lantech.

[0048] As described above, once the fill material 72 is at the properlevel in the bag 42 the bag 42 can be closed by a number of differentmechanisms and methods, described above, or it can be left opendepending on the type of fill material 72. FIGS. 16 and 17 show onemechanism for automatically closing bag 42. The mechanism comprises afirst swing bar 216 and a second swing bar 218. The first swing bar 216is swung against the bag 42 to provide a first crease in the bag andthen the second swing bar 218 is swung against the bag to fold the topof the bag over as shown in FIG. 17. At this point, the wrapping ofouter wrap 58 is continued in a downward direction as shown in FIG. 18to produce the final container.

[0049] As discussed above, it is possible to utilize the bag 42 withcertain types of fill material 72 that do not require a pallet 50 belocated below the bag 42 on the turntable 54. In one embodiment, the bag42 is placed on a pull-pack type slipsheet 58 or shroud 50. Once the bag42 is filled with fill material 72 a pull-pack type forklift can beutilized to pull the filled bag 42 off the lower turntable 54 and loadit into a vehicle for transportation. Such pull-pack slipsheets areknown by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0050] The foregoing invention has been described in accordance with therelevant legal standards, thus the description is exemplary rather thanlimiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosedembodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and do comewithin the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of legalprotection afforded this invention can only be determined by studyingthe following claims.

We claim:
 1. A transportable container for bulk goods comprising: a baghaving a closed base and an open top; a fill material in said bag; andan outer wrap spirally wound around said bag and securing said fillmaterial in said bag.
 2. A transportable container as recited in claim1, wherein said open top is sealed.
 3. A transportable container asrecited in claim 2, wherein said open top is sealed by one of a sonicweld, a heat weld, a plastic pull tie, a wire, a rope, or a clamp.
 4. Atransportable container as recited in claim 1, wherein said bagcomprises a flexible plastic, a breathable plastic, a foil, a lightblocking material, a laminate, a moisture barrier film, paper, or a foodgrade material.
 5. A transportable container as recited in claim 1, saidclosed base of said bag is gusseted.
 6. A transportable container asrecited in claim 1, wherein said outer wrap is slit into a series ofstrips prior to being spirally wound around said bag.
 7. A transportablecontainer as recited in claim 1, wherein said outer wrap is spirallywound around said bag in an upward direction.
 8. A transportablecontainer as recited in claim 7, wherein said outer wrap is additionallyspirally wound around said bag in a downward direction.
 9. Atransportable container as recited in claim 1, further comprising asupport closely adjacent to said closed base.
 10. A transportablecontainer as recited in claim 9, wherein said support comprises one of aslipsheet, a shroud, or a strip of corrugated material and wherein saidouter wrap is spirally wound around said bag and said support.
 11. Atransportable container as recited in claim 1, wherein said fillmaterial comprises an agricultural product, a chemical product, aplastic material, a machined material, a cereal, a wood product, alandscaping material, peat moss, dirt, sand, gravel, rocks, a preparedfood, a partially prepared frozen food product, or a manufacturedproduct.
 12. A transportable container as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid bag further comprises handling hoops secured to said bag.
 13. Amethod of forming a transportable container for bulk goods comprisingthe steps of: a) providing a bag having an opened top and a closed base;and b) spirally wrapping an outer wrap around the bag while directing afill material into the bag and maintaining a top edge of the outer wrapnear a fill level of the fill material in the bag.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein step b) further comprises monitoring the fill level ofthe fill material in the bag while spirally wrapping the outer wraparound the bag.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the filllevel is monitored by one of a sonic probe, an infrared detector, aweight of the fill material in the bag, or a timer.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, comprising the further steps of stopping the directing of afill material into the bag and then sealing the open top.
 17. The methodas recited in claim 16, wherein the step of sealing said open topcomprises one of folding over said open top and spirally wrapping saidouter wrap around said folded over open top, sonically welding said opentop shut, heat welding said open top shut, closing said open top with aplastic pull tie, closing said open top with a wire, closing said opentop with a rope, or closing said open top with a clamp.
 18. The methodas recited in claim 13, wherein step a) further comprises providing abag comprising a food grade plastic, a breathable plastic, a foil, alight blocking material, a laminate, a moisture barrier film, or apaper.
 19. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising thestep of providing a removable support closely adjacent to said closedbase while spirally wrapping an outer wrap around said closed base andthen removing said removable support.
 20. The method as recited in claim19, comprising providing a plurality of retractable and extendablefingers as the removable support.
 21. The method as claimed in claim 13,comprising the further step of providing a support material closelyadjacent to said closed base wherein said support material comprises aslipsheet, a shroud, or a strip of corrugated material.